RUNZY
Subscribe
Blog
No Result
View All Result
  • All
  • Running insights and tips
  • Nutrition
  • For Race Directors
  • Races
  • Free training plans
  • Calculators
  • Great Runs
RUNZY
  • All
  • Running insights and tips
  • Nutrition
  • For Race Directors
  • Races
  • Free training plans
  • Calculators
  • Great Runs
No Result
View All Result
RUNZY
Runzy Blog Running insights and tips
Importance of Rest Days for Runners

Importance of Rest Days for Runners

by Julia Gorda
23 Dec, 2022
in Running insights and tips

Human beings are not machines. They need rest. And with serious athletes, like runners, it is even more essential. 

You might also like
Running Pre-requisites
Early Volume
Dealing with One-Sided Aches While Running? Here’s Why

It doesn’t matter if you are preparing for a marathon or just following a training routine; your body is under stress. Moreover, if you overdo it, running can cause harm to your body. 

Many runners have retired earlier than they could because of burnout. What leads to burnout, you may ask? The answer is simple – ignoring the importance of rest days.

In this article, we will discuss the significance of rest days from running and how best to spend them.

How Important Are Rest Days?

Preventing Injury

Everyone knows that rest reduces injuries, but how? The answer is simple – workouts without rest lead to overtraining, which, in turn, causes injuries. 

Your muscles and joints need rest because when you run, you stretch the muscle fibers and ligaments. What happens if you don’t let your muscles rest? Without proper rest, they will not be able to recover, and your training will harm you instead of benefit you.

Your Performance Becomes Better

Beginners mistakenly think that rest days can lead to the loss of their progress. The truth is that it takes about two weeks of total inactivity for your body to lose any of the skills it has learned from workouts and decrease its performance level. So one day off won’t affect your performance and fitness. 

On the contrary, rest days between workouts allow your body to recover. Recovery, in turn, reduces the risk of overloading and physical stress. All these factors enable your body to adapt to the training load, which you increase from time to time. 

So, yes, it may sound contradictory, but if you want to become faster and stronger, you must have rest days. If not, everything will happen exactly the opposite. Even pro runners take days off because they know rest days are the secret to achieving their goals.

Good and Healthy Sleep

Intense workouts can move your body into a state of constant restlessness, hyperactivity, and increased excitability, leading to heart palpitations and insomnia. 

Good and healthy sleep is crucial for success in running because it influences your performance and motivation. If you have this condition now, you should rest. A few days will help you reduce excitability and heart rate, regulate sleep, and restore strength.

Normal State of the Immune System

During intense workouts, your immune system constantly works to heal your muscles and joints. Without proper rest, it may not keep up, and the body’s systems will not recover in time. What will happen next? You’ve already guessed – injuries.

Mental Recovery

Overtraining syndrome appears to be a maladaptive response to excessive exercise without adequate rest, resulting in perturbations of multiple body systems (neurologic, endocrinologic, immunologic) coupled with mood changes. 

From a psychological point of view, recovery can rekindle your motivation for exercise and prevent the development of depression. Don’t forget that mental fatigue can be just as harmful as physical fatigue. Therefore, rest is also necessary to rewire the psyche.

How Often Should You Take Days off From Running?

According to research, you should have at least one running rest day per week. If you are a beginner, you can take 2 or 3 rest days and reduce the quantity as you become more resilient.

How Much Should a Runner Rest After a Race? 

A runner recovering from a 10k run may require several days of recovery. In fact, it is not uncommon for professional athletes to spend several weeks after a grueling race in recovery microcycles. 

Can I Run On My Rest Days? How Should I Spend a Rest Day? 

The best way to spend your rest day is doing a non-running activity. You could do cross-training, yoga, or go bike riding. You could even take a long walk with your friends or family. 

Don’t forget that your nearest and dearest miss you when you completely dedicate yourself to workouts – rest days are the perfect time to be around them. 

When to Take a Rest Day From Working Out?

Of course, it is better to include the rest day in your regular running schedule. For example, if you run a lot on the weekend, make Monday your rest day. If you are training to run a marathon, and the long run is on Saturday, take a day off on Friday to be full of energy for your long run.

Still, there can be different situations, so you can add additional rest days. How do you know if you need more rest? Here are the signs you should pay attention to:

Feeling tired. Waking up in the morning, you feel exhausted, sore, or tired even after 7-8 hours of sleep. This is a signal that you need one or two days off.

Cannot fall asleep. As we said above, you require a rest day if you still feel tired after 7-8 hours of sleep. Still, if you have trouble falling asleep, it is a sign that your nervous system is working at its maximum. 

Lack of normal sleep leads to poor performance and endurance. It can also inhibit the conversion of glycogen. Moreover, studies show that lack of sleep leads to an increase in the level of cortisol (stress hormone) and a decrease in the activity of human growth hormone. The last is very important for runners. 

What to do? Take a rest day and implement new habits: stop using your phone before and in bed, and follow a bedtime routine to condition your body to sleep.

Staying dehydrated all the time. If you constantly feel very thirsty or the color of your urine is dark yellow, this is a sign of dehydration. Exhausted adrenal glands begin to secrete cortisol, also called the stress hormone, which increases the need for water. Without normal hydration, the body reaches a catabolic state, leading to severe fatigue, joint and muscle pain, and insomnia. As you see, all the symptoms go round and round.

Sluggishness while running. Every runner has bad workouts from time to time. Still, if you feel weak and sluggish during the last few workouts, it is a sign of burnout.

Mental burnout. Working out every day results in mental exhaustion. When you have no desire to run, it may be a sign of laziness, but if you feel it constantly – you have a burnout signal. Your body is so exhausted that it just doesn’t have the energy to train. 

Heart Rhythm Disorders. An increased or decreased heart rate signals exhaustion. If your body reacts to your workouts with such symptoms, take 1-2 days off. If symptoms persist, see your doctor.

Wrap Up

Rest touches all spheres of our life – if we want to stay motivated and improve, we should take a break from time to time. Working hard at the office, you wait for a weekend and vacations. If you are a hard-working athlete, rest days are essential. Otherwise, you risk mental burnout, injuries, and other issues with your body.  

Share30Tweet19
Previous Post Knee Pain After Running: Causes, Treatment & Prevention Next Post How to Start Running When You’re Out of Shape: 9 Best Tips
Recommended For You
Running Pre-requisites
02 Jun. 2025
Running Pre-requisites

While there are plenty of ways to reduce the risk of injury, most experienced runners will still encounter a repetitive stress injury at some point. Even a small...

Read more
Early Volume
26 May. 2025
Early Volume

When getting ready for a marathon, your weekly mileage and the length of your longest run aren’t the only things that matter—but they are among the most important....

Read more
Dealing with One-Sided Aches While Running? Here’s Why
19 May. 2025
Dealing with One-Sided Aches While Running? Here’s Why

Do you consistently feel tightness or pain on just one side of your body - like a sore right calf, stiff left hip, or nagging pain in one...

Read more
Running IQ
12 May. 2025
Running IQ

With the NBA playoffs heating up, let’s briefly change gears to a different sport - just for a few sentences… Basketball IQ refers to a player’s natural sense...

Read more
Lower Leg Strength Training for Marathoners
02 May. 2025
Lower Leg Strength Training for Marathoners

Many marathon runners look to build strength during the off-season, especially if they’re aiming to improve after a less-than-satisfying race. They hit the gym and dive into routines...

Read more
Categories
  • Calculators 5
  • For Race Directors 14
  • Free training plans 14
  • Great Runs 23
  • Nutrition 17
  • Races 63
  • Running insights and tips 58
We create runner-focused content to improve your performance.
Subscribe not to miss new awesome content.

    US STATES

    AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareWashington D.C.FloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingVirgin IslandsTrust TerritoriesPuerto RicoGuamAmerican SamoaNorthern Mariana Islands

    CANADIAN PROVINCES

    Alberta
    British Columbia
    Manitoba
    Ontario
    Quebec
    Runzy Logo
    Company About CareersContact Us
    Coaching How it works Pricing Coaches FAQ
    Trust Terms Privacy Athlete Waiver
    Get The App

    ©2023 Runzy, Inc. All rights reserved.

    • All
    • Running insights and tips
    • Nutrition
    • For Race Directors
    • Races
    • Free training plans
    • Calculators
    • Great Runs